Predetermined Sky
by heartagramboy
Summary: Two months...in his mind, it was an eternity. Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I'm heartagram boy and this is my first fanfic. I love FF7 and thought I'd make a little story about it. This takes place two months after the events in the game. ENJOY!

Predetermined Sky 

By heartagram boy

**Chapter 1**

Grey clouds appeared over Midgar. It was cold that morning. The constant rain had settled down now, and only an overcast sky remained. Cloud listened to the hustle and bustle of Midgar through the house's walls. All the while staring at the grey sky through the window from his spot on the floor.

_Aeris…_

He felt tears well in his eyes at the thought of her. He tried to block out the thoughts, but his mind was determined to make him relive the anguish. He saw here, kneeling there in the Forgotten City, locked deeply in prayer. The light shimmered off of her pink dress as her braided brown hair flowed casually behind her. God, how beautiful she was. A veritable angel that death sought fit to visit.

_Maybe there was more I could've done._

The tears overflowed and ran down his face at this thought. He knew he could've done more, but Sephiroth was too strong. He hated that feeling, that feeling of absolute weakness. All he could do was watch as she was cruelly struck down. He remembered so vividly as he sat there, the way Sephiroth fell from the heavens and impaled Aeris. Cloud would never wholly forget. And Sephiroth! His expression was one of supreme hatred and malice. It looked as if he almost enjoyed it.

_Oh god, Aeris, I'm so sorry…_

And with that final thought, he swirled into a deep, tragic sorrow. He sobbed for what seemed like a lifetime before he finally looked up. To his left, the light shined off of his colossal sword.

_I want to see her._

He picked up the Buster Sword effortlessly with one hand and brought it close to him. He admired the great blade, remembering that it was once Zack's, his closest friend's. He knew how sharp it was, it could cut through steel like a knife through butter. Flesh should be no adversary. He brought the sword closer to the tender flesh of his neck. Now, it would all be over. But a knock at the door stopped him.

"Cloud? Breakfast!"

He instantly recognized the voice as that of Yuffie. He sighed and placed his sword against the bed, foiled in his attempt. He stood up and looked again out the window. The rain had started up again. He sat there for some time before he finally sheathed his sword, wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and walked out of his bedroom door.

Yuffie scrambled down the stairs after she had alerted Cloud of breakfast. She immediately rushed to her place at the table and sat down. The smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes, coffee and other assorted food items made her mouth water. She sat in a dreamlike state while she watched as a few of the gang took their turn in fixing breakfast.

Tifa was on oven duty. She bustled around the kitchen in her desperate attempt to finish cooking all the eggs and bacon. Barret was in charge of cooking pancakes. He had an attachment on his robotic arm that served as an electric mixer, making him the prime candidate for mixing pancake batter, and Vincent was busy trying not to let the blueberry muffins burn as he watched them meticulously through the oven door. Cait Sith was in a corner preparing coffee and orange juice and Red XIII was watching to see if anything edible was dropped. Yuffie sat in a trance as she watched breakfast prepared, openly drooling on the table.

"I sure as hell hope you're gonna clean that up, missy!" said Cid as he appeared from behind his newspaper.

Yuffie scowled at him.

"I just wanna eat!" she moaned as plate after plate of food was brought to the table. She immediately began piling pancakes on her plate when Tifa stopped her.

"Don't you think we should wait for Cloud, Yuffie?"

Yuffie set her plate down and crossed her arms angrily. Fortunately for her, she did not have to wait long. She turned her head and saw Cloud walking out of the darkness of his bedroom.

"Well," said Barret as he brought out another plate of pancakes, "here's the little ray of sunshine now!"

Cloud placed his sword near the foot of the stairs and walked to the table in complete silence, ignoring Barret's snide comment. He sat down and began to pile on the eggs and pancakes.

"YAY!" yelled Yuffie, "Chow time!" She then began to eat so ravenously that she nearly choked to death on a muffin. Cid couldn't help laughing as the now blue kunoichi as she rolled around on the floor in her attempt to get it out. She finally did cough up the muffin, which was large enough it could be declared a small city and she then shot Cid a look of pure venom. She got up, grabbed a handful of eggs, and threw them at him. He ducked out of the way and all of the eggs landed right in Cloud's lap. Cloud looked down and then looked at Yuffie with such anger that she actually cowered back a few steps.

"Cloud, I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"

Cloud said nothing as he simply stood up, brushed the eggs off of him and walked toward his sword. He picked up the giant sword and looked at Yuffie with the same anger as before. He unsheathed his sword and began walking towards her.

"Cloud, I'm so sorry! Please, don't hurt me!"

She cowered as he loomed over her in a blind fury. He raised his sword and he heard a click in his right ear. Vincent had pointed Cerberus right at his skull.

"Lower your weapon, Cloud," the usually enigmatic man commanded. Cloud looked down at the fragile girl crying and trembling below him, and he let out a small sigh.

_What have I become?_

He sheathed his sword. He turned to the rest of AVALANCHE, as they looked at him in a state of utter shock, most with mouths wide open. Vincent lowered his gun. Cloud tried to say something, anything, but words would not come out of his mouth. Tears began to well in his eyes as he looked to Yuffie and finally managed to mumble "I'm so sorry." He immediately placed his sword on his back and quickly left the room. He walked into the hallway and then out the front door, into the cold, grey morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Cloud walked through the rain as he made his way to Fenrir, parked in the driveway. He mounted the bike and out of the corner of his eye saw Tifa come out of the house and began running toward him.

"Cloud! Where are you going?"

He did not answer. The roar of Fenrir drowned out Tifa's cries as he backed out of the driveway. He reached into his pocket and grabbed a pair of sunglasses. He put them on and sped off into the distance, leaving Tifa in the driveway.

She stood there as he drove off, wondering why he had overreacted at Yuffie's childish behavior. She turned on her heel and strode back inside the house.

Cloud drove for what seemed an eternity before he finally calmed down. He didn't know why he had reacted so harshly to Yuffie. Sure, she could be annoying, but that was no reason to threaten her life the way he did. He remembered her lying there as he towered over her. He cringed at the thought at what would have happened if Vincent weren't there. He looked back as he left Midgar and watched it slowly shrink in size.

_All I do is hurt people…_

The bitter cold stung Cloud's face as he drove. The rain felt like needles but still he drove on. He didn't know where he would go, for no place can erase the guilt he felt at his actions that morning.

The rain was coming down in sheets now and he could barely see two feet in front of him. He swerved to miss a giant rock in the ground and nearly lost control of Fenrir. He regained control and traveled on. The intense cold was affecting his motor skills. His muscles began cramping as he tried to keep control of his bike.

Another rock came into his field of vision, but he did not react quickly enough. His front tire crashed against it and sent him and the bike flying through the air. While airborne, he tried to brace himself for landing. He hit the ground hard, landing on his back in a large puddle. Fenrir came after him and landed on his legs, sending a sickening crunch into the air. Cloud screamed in agony as he felt the bones of his legs being snapped like twigs. He began to hyperventilate as he desperately struggled to free himself, but every movement sent sheets of pain flaring throughout his body. His blood began to mix with the murky water around him.

With a cry of defeat, he lay back on the ground as the rain fell mercilessly on his broken body. He looked around and saw nothing to help him. His vision began to flicker as the cold began to slow his breathing. He looked up at the sky above him and saw a lightning bolt shoot through the sky.

He knew no more.

Yuffie sat in her room sobbing as she stared out the window. Why had Cloud been so angry with her? She said she was sorry, and she meant it. It was torture for her not knowing why. She had always had a bit of a crush on Cloud, but just recently she found herself unable to stop thinking about him. She wanted him to forgive her so badly that she felt sick. There was a knock at her door.

"Yuffie? It's Tifa. Can I come in?"

"…Sure."

Tifa carefully made her way into Yuffie's room. She sat down onto the bed next to Yuffie.

"Why was Cloud so mad, Tifa?"

"I'm not sure," replied Tifa, "but I think he's just been under a lot of stress. We all have, seeing as how Aerith has…"

Tifa began to get choked up and couldn't finish. Yuffie buried herself in Tifa's arms as she once again started to bawl. After a few moments, Yuffie gained control of herself and sat up straight. She wanted to apologize. He'd only been gone a short while, perhaps she could still catch him…Yuffie stood up, walked over to her shuriken and picked it up.

"Where are you going, Yuffie?" inquired Tifa.

"I'm gonna find him."

Yuffie walked out of her bedroom door and down the stairs. She grabbed a few potions from their supply, and a Fire and All materia as well. She thought she was well prepared if an encounter with a monster were to happen. And with that she left, ill-prepared for the horror that awaited her just outside the gates of Midgar.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey ladies and gents! Sorry it took me so long to post a new chapter but I was experiencing some technical difficulties, so…well, here's Ch. 3. Enjoy!

**Chapter 3**

Lightning flashed overhead as Cloud fell deeper into an otherworldly slumber. He was faintly aware of a prickling sensation over the entirety of his body, but he slowly began to lose feeling. Darkness began to consume him and he began to shiver. An unnatural cold crept through his veins, almost as if his blood were freezing.

And yet, he felt safe. He had lost a large quantity of blood and was becoming delirious. In the back of his head he heard voices. He listened intently, trying desperately to figure out what they were saying, but to no avail. Slowly the voices began to fade, and with an especially loud thunderclap reality came rushing back to him.

He gagged and sputtered, for the rain had collected in his open mouth. The weather had remained more or less the same since the time he'd blacked out. He looked around, dazed, and saw nothing but the grey mist that appeared as the rain fell from the heavens.

_How long have I been out?_

He attempted to right himself, and that was when the pain hit him. While he'd been recovering from the anesthetizing throes of sleep, he'd forgotten about the massive damage to his legs. Fenrir lay on him, keeping him pinned to the ground. Cloud attempted to right himself once more, and another sheet of agony rushed through his body, causing him to scream in agony.

"Ah!!! Damn it!" screamed Cloud as he cringed with pain.

Cloud fell back, brow beaded with sweat. He tried a third time, and felt a crushing pain through his legs, but righted himself. He sat up, panting as he contemplated how to get his motorcycle off of him.

_Just get over it, Strife._

He slid the bike not three inches off of him before the pain became too great for the Ex-SOLDIER to bear. He finally saw his right leg and saw that the cloth of his pants had ripped and his leg was covered in blood. Cloud feared moving the bike any further, for he knew this was most likely the least of his injuries. He attempted to move the bike, but the intense burning and aching pain had stopped him. He rested, hair damp with rainwater and sweat. He looked around the ground and found the item he sought. A thick stick. Cloud, trembling in pain, placed the stick in his mouth.

_This is really gonna hurt…_

The rain began to fall heavily yet again as Cloud bit down hard on the stick and then grabbed hold of the bike. As quickly as he could he shoved the bike off of him, causing a near unbearable pain to shoot up through his broken body. He convulsed and shook in agony as the tears welled in his eyes and he screamed a loud, guttural cry. He fell back, exhausted and shivering. Finally, there came the matter of sizing up the damage.

_No…I don't wanna know…_

But Cloud could not stop himself. His sight moved further down, and his heart sank at the sight that he beheld. Both legs were terribly mutilated, and lay there in a large pool of blood, but the left leg was by far the worst. It held several deep lacerations that bled quite profusely. When Fenrir landed, he felt a sickening crunch. He knew now what it was as he gazed upon the marble white bone protruding from the gory wound in his thigh.

While gazing at the bone, he began to feel queasy. He rolled over onto his side and retched, sending wave after wave of throbbing hell through out his lower body. He rolled back over onto his back and began to look at his right leg. His right ankle was cut quite deeply and his lower leg was bent at quite a sickening angle.

Once more he gazed at the dark sky above him. The rain had slowed down again. He began to wonder…would this rocky place become his tomb? Would he die here? Cloud began to panic, as fear overtook him and he began to hyperventilate. He felt dizzy. He began to see spots as the world around him swam. His head pounded, his heart raced.

_I am going to die._

But was death really so bad? Now, here at the end, it wasn't. He felt almost content. Maybe…he would see her again. The thought of that made his breathing slow down. If he died, he would see her again. Cloud let his head fall loosely to one side. He felt sleepy…

But then in the distance, he saw something. He could have sworn it was a figure. Was it? Or was it his imagination?

Cloud's head began to swim once more, and again he fell into that same dark slumber.


End file.
